Food Security Outlook in Africa to 2025
Policy and Investment Priorities for Africa
Projections from: Looking Ahead: Long-Term Prospects for Africa’s Agricultural Development and Food Security (unless otherwise noted) International Food Policy Research Institute
August 2005
- Africa’s agricultural sector faces pressing environmental, political, and economic challenges, often stemming from a few root causes. Poor governance, lack of water resources management, inadequate infrastructure, limited access to markets, and low funding all contribute to weaken agricultural development and heighten food insecurity across the continent.
- Addressing these challenges requires significant changes in both policy and investment priorities. Investment or policy reforms on their own are insufficient to improve food security in Africa; investments must be targeted and supported by sound policies to have impact.
- Africa’s future food security hinges largely on the policy and investment choices made by the international donor community and African governments. IMPACT projections find that a 78 percent increase, or US$ 303 billion, in investments over current levels would allow Africa to confront child malnutrition as effectively as the rest of the developing world. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, investment levels would need to rise by 94 percent.
- Reducing obstacles to agricultural productivity by improving marketing and communication can dramatically increase food demand and production, and in turn, decrease child malnutrition. Cutting these obstacles by half would reduce the percentage of malnourished children in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2025 to 25.2%, or 2.3 million fewer than if current policies remained.
- Commitments to improve rural infrastructure and education can reduce malnutrition and strengthen food security. Improvements to rural roads, which expand access to markets, would need to increase 56 percent above current levels to US$ 95.4 billion. Increased educational opportunities, especially for women, which can lead to higher productivity, requires an investment increase of 117 percent from current levels to US$ 82.3 billion.
- Improved crop, land, and water management practices can contribute both environmental and food security benefits. Investment in irrigation requires an increase of 141 percent over current levels to US$ 48.7 billion to have widespread benefit. Access to clean water would need to increase by 55 percent from current levels to US$ 49.1 billion.
- Agricultural research and extension, which can help improve crop yields, require policies and investment support to help farmers increase crop production in Africa. Projections call for investments in agricultural research to increase 44 percent to US$27.8 billion.